I am often faced with my ‘mortal-ness’. It’s understandable since I know I have caused others pain or missed on needs, my being oblivious to their struggles and causing me to feel I am not ‘celestial material’. It is a main reason for continuing these posts. Please don’t ‘kill the messengers message’ because of his hypocrisy. If I didn’t have the struggles I do, there would be nothing to write about! So the following is ‘delicious’ to keep things in perspective. kdm
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said in the October 2017 general conference, “My brothers and sisters, except for Jesus, there have been no flawless performances on this earthly journey we are pursuing, so while in mortality let’s strive for steady improvement without obsessing over what behavioral scientists call “toxic perfectionism.”12 We should avoid that latter excessive expectation of ourselves and of others and, I might add, of those who are called to serve in the Church—which for Latter-day Saints means everyone,for we are all called to serve somewhere.
In that regard, Leo Tolstoy wrote once of a priest who was criticized by one of his congregants for not living as resolutely as he should, the critic concluding that the principles the erring preacher taught must therefore also be erroneous.
In response to that criticism, the priest says: “Look at my life now and compare it to my former life. You will see that I am trying to live out the truth I proclaim.” Unable to live up to the high ideals he taught, the priest admits he has failed. But he cries:
“Attack me, [if you wish,] I do this myself, but [don’t] attack … the path I follow. … If I know the way home [but] am walking along it drunkenly, is it any less the right way simply because I am staggering from side to side?
“… Do not gleefully shout, ‘Look at him! … There he is crawling into a bog!’ No, do not gloat, but give … your help [to anyone trying to walk the road back to God.]”13 (see below)
Brothers and sisters, every one of us aspires to a more Christlike life than we often succeed in living. If we admit that honestly and are trying to improve, we are not hypocrites; we are human. May we refuse to let our own mortal follies, and the inevitable shortcomings of even the best men and women around us, make us cynical about the truths of the gospel, the truthfulness of the Church, our hope for our future, or the possibility of godliness. If we persevere, then somewhere in eternity our refinement will be finished and complete—which is the New Testament meaning of perfection.14 see below
I testify of that grand destiny, made available to us by the Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ, who Himself continued “from grace to grace”15 until in His immortality 16 He received a perfect fullness of celestial glory.17 I testify that in this and every hour He is, with nail-scarred hands, extending to us that same grace, holding on to us and encouraging us, refusing to let us go until we are safely home in the embrace of Heavenly Parents. For such a perfect moment, I continue to strive, however clumsily. For such a perfect gift, I continue to give thanks, however inadequately. I do so in the very name of Perfection itself, of Him who has never been clumsy or inadequate but who loves all of us who are, even the Lord Jesus Christ, amen.
To access the Elder Holland’s complete talk click: ‘Be Ye Therefore Perfect—Eventually’
13. “The New Way,” Leo Tolstoy: Spiritual Writings, sel. Charles E. Moore (2006), 81–82.
14. For an enlightening examination of the meaning of the Greek word used in the New Testament for perfect (“teleios”), see President Russell M. Nelson’s October 1995 general conference address “Perfection Pending” (Ensign, Nov. 1995, 86–87).
